The COVID-2019 Thread

[harrybarracuda]

Eurotrash wankers.

Coronavirus: Europe vaccine rollout undermined by leaders’ mixed messages

[cyrille]

England identifies two cases of Philippines' variant

The Philippines’ travel ban announcement comes as two cases of a new coronavirus strain first reported in the Philippines were found in England.


As Press Association reports, Public Health England (PHE) said the variant contained a number of notable mutations, including the E484K spike protein found in the Manaus variant from Brazil.


Concerns have been raised that vaccines may not be as effective against this protein.


The new strain has been designated as a “variant under investigation” (VUI) rather than a “variant of concern” (VOC), such as the Manaus strain.


It was first reported on 9 March by the Philippines, when 33 cases were recorded.


PHE said it had now identified two cases of the variant in England and that all appropriate public health interventions were being taken.


It said that one of the cases was linked to international travel and the other is still being investigated, but did not confirm where either had been found.


This variant has been designated VUI-21MAR-02 (P.3) and PHE said it is continuing to monitor the situation closely.
The findings mean there are now six VUIs and four VOCs being tracked by scientists in the UK.


Other VUIs include P2, from Brazil, which has had 43 probable or confirmed UK cases, and A.23.1 and B.1.525, which have seen 78 and 86 probable or confirmed UK cases detected respectively.


Additional testing is currently being made available for targeted areas of England to suppress the spread of VOCs.
It comes as two more cases of the Manaus VOC have been found in England.


One was found in the West Midlands and the other in Haringey, London, and both are linked to international travel to Brazil, according to PHE.


Coronavirus live news: India records three-month daily case high; EU regulator backs Oxford jab | World news | The Guardian

[harrybarracuda]

MANILA: The Philippines will close its border to foreigners and restrict the number of Filipinos entering the country as authorities battle to contain a spike in coronavirus infections.
The temporary measures come after the number of daily cases hit a seven-month high of 5,404 on Monday and experts predict the figure could double by the end of March.
Most of the active infections are in Metro Manila where targeted lockdowns, night-time curfews and a stay-at-home order for all children are being used to curb the spread.
The ban on overseas arrivals was announced late Tuesday by the government's Covid-19 task force and takes effect March 20.

Philippines to shut border to foreigners as virus cases surge

[harrybarracuda]

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) plans to start its Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Bang Khae on Wednesday to prevent the disease spreading further in the district.
BMA governor Aswin Kwanmuang said on Tuesday the vaccinations would be administered at local hospitals and at Bang Khae market.
The BMA planned to inoculate about 6,000 people in the district, at the rate of 500-600 a day, starting with market vendors and people close to them, he said.
Anyone considering themselves at risk because they had come into contact with infected people at the Bang Khae markets can request vaccination at local hospitals, said Pol Gen Aswin.
The governor was speaking after a meeting of the BMA's subcommittee on the management of Covid-19 vaccines.

Shots rollout starts in Bang Khae

[misskit]

All First Covid-19 Vaccine Shots to Target Populations Will Be Given in 3 Months

BANGKOK (NNT) - All first shots of the Covid-19 vaccine will be given to target populations in the next three months, while the entire inoculation program is expected to finish by the end of this year.


Public Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit said when 60% of the population has been inoculated against Covid-19 and Covid-19 prevention measures continue to be well maintained, the outbreak should be well under control.


He said an effective Covid-19 vaccine distribution plan will be crucial for the government’s plan to reopen the country and boost the economy through tourism promotion programs.


Dr Kiattiphum said in this current urgent and first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination program, 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine supplied by China’s Sinovac Biotech are being distributed to all 13 provinces, including five provinces considered as the country’s prime tourist destinations.

National News Bureau Of Thailand

[harrybarracuda]

All first shots of the Covid-19 vaccine will be given to target populations in the next three months

Target populations:

That old lady who sells fish in one of the markets.
A couple of old people next to her.
Er....

Er....

[Troy]

troy


the uk gov. have published data on vaccination side effects here ...


Coronavirus vaccine - weekly summary of Yellow Card reporting - GOV.UK.

i understand what you say about the eu virus/ vaccination response but eu/uk rivalry is driving it as much as any of the other reasons you have given.

I had a read through the analysis of the Pfizer and AZ vaccines that were in the link and, although raw data, I couldn't see any obviously significant difference in severe side effects or death between the two.

I expect the outcome of the EU meeting will be that AZ is safe.

The leaders of the EU major nations have made another disastrous mistake.

[Joe 90]

My AZ jabs booked for next week.

[Buckaroo Banzai]

I don't understand why they are not testing for antibodies. I am sure there must be hundreds of thousands of people that are being vaccinated but do not need to be because they recently had covid, and have the antibodies. For all I know I could had been one of them. Very strange IMO.

[harrybarracuda]

I don't understand why they are not testing for antibodies. I am sure there must be hundreds of thousands of people that are being vaccinated but do not need to be because they recently had covid, and have the antibodies. For all I know I could had been one of them. Very strange IMO.

The level of antibodies produced by the disease vary from individual to individual. And with new variants, they may not be enough.

Rather than piss about, it's simpler just to vaccinate.

[harrybarracuda]

I had a read through the analysis of the Pfizer and AZ vaccines that were in the link and, although raw data, I couldn't see any obviously significant difference in severe side effects or death between the two.

I expect the outcome of the EU meeting will be that AZ is safe.

The leaders of the EU major nations have made another disastrous mistake.

The hormonal contraceptive pill has a higher risk for blood clots than AZ, and there are 842 million users.

This is just stupid fucking political games by the eurotrash. Another reason to be rid of the c u n t s.

Birth control creates higher risk of blood clots than AstraZeneca vaccine

[Joe 90]

Shits hitting the fan again in Europe with a third wave, so AZ and the UK is helping them out

The NHS has written to local health organisations warning of a "significant reduction in weekly supply" of coronavirus vaccines from the week beginning 29 March for a month.

It says there has been a "reduction in national inbound vaccines supply".

It also says organisations should "ensure no further appointments are uploaded to the national booking system or local booking system" in April.

The BBC understands no one who has booked a vaccine should lose a slot.

Asked about the letter, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said "vaccine supply is always lumpy", and added that the NHS regularly sent out "technical letters" explaining the "ups and downs" of supply.

The BBC's politics editor Laura Kuenssberg has been told that fewer AstraZeneca vaccines are available than expected.


The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
View original tweet on Twitter
The letter says "over this next period it is vital" that health organisations focus on vaccinating those in the one to nine groups who are most vulnerable to coronavirus.

It advises vaccination services to work with local authorities, voluntary community and faith organisations "to put in place reserve lists" of people eligible for the vaccine, as well as targeting areas of lower uptake.

When will it be my turn to be vaccinated?
The NHS says vaccination centres and community pharmacy-led services should close unfilled bookings from the week commencing 29 March.

Earlier, it was announced that almost half of British adults have received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

The Department of Health said 25 million people had received their first dose, while 1.7 million had been given their second dose.

Mr Hancock said that the nation was "ahead of schedule" to offer a first dose to all over-50s by 15 April.

He also reiterated a commitment to ensuring all adults in the UK are offered their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of July.

Speaking at a press conference, Mary Ramsay, the head of immunisation at Public Health England, said "every day we vaccinate more people we are preventing more deaths".

BBC politics correspondent Jonathan Blake said the hold-up would have an impact on the momentum of the vaccine rollout and possibly the government's targets.

Priority group list
Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth tweeted: "People across the country will be anxious and worried about this news of delayed vaccinations tonight.

"Matt Hancock must explain what the issue is with supply and what efforts are being made to resolve them."

On Wednesday, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said that if Covid vaccine supplies in Europe do not improve, the EU "will reflect whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate".

The EU and the UK have been engaged in a diplomatic row over the export of the vaccines, exacerbated by post-Brexit disagreements.

[Buckaroo Banzai]

The level of antibodies produced by the disease vary from individual to individual. And with new variants, they may not be enough.

Rather than piss about, it's simpler just to vaccinate.

Yea I get that, but in environment of limiter recourses, as far as vaccines are concerned would it not make more sense to prioritize those those with no immunity at al? or is the antibody test more expensive and less available than the vaccine, in which case it is better to spend the money and buy two vaccines instead of one unibody test?
Just thinking out loud.
Yea I know ,CUT IT OUT!! LOL

[russellsimpson]

Sooooooooooooo,

Are we into a third wave or not? Any opinions?

[panama hat]

^ Who's we? Here in NZ we haven't even had a first wave.



Anyway - couldn't happen to a nicer guy:

John Magufuli, Tanzanian president who denied coronavirus, dies at 61

John Magufuli, who presided over an increasingly authoritarian regime as president of Tanzania, has died at a hospital in Dar es Salaam. He was 61.
During the final year of his reign, Magufuli rejected scientific evidence of the coronavirus pandemic, urging his citizens to raise their voices in prayer rather than cover their faces with masks.
The death was announced in a statement by Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who cited "heart complications" as the cause.
There had been earlier unconfirmed reports from opposition leaders, which Magufuli's government denied, that he had been hospitalised in Nairobi for Covid-19.


His outspoken religiosity, inspired in part by his devotion to a charismatic Nigerian evangelist named T B Joshua, helped shape his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
From the beginning, Magufuli emulated then-US President Donald Trump and Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, suggesting that the virus posed little risk, that medical experts could not be trusted and that economic health was the paramount concern.
He mocked health-safety measures like social distancing and the wearing of masks, and fired government health officials if they disagreed. He advocated steam baths and folk remedies.
Above all, he called for prayer.
"Our enemies will say a lot, but here in Tanzania we are safe," he said in August 2020, according to the New York Times. "We put God first, and God heard us."
When coronavirus testing began, Magufuli insisted that animals, plants


Last year, Pierre Nkurunziza, the coronavirus-denying president of neighbouring Burundi, died suddenly at 55 amid speculation that he had contracted the disease
Even as senior officials in the Tanzanian government fell ill and died, Magufuli ignored pleas from international agencies to provide accurate figures about the pandemic. (South Africa, with a comparable population, had more than 50,000 confirmed deaths by March.)
Journalists discovered that hospitals were overflowing, that medical equipment was in short supply and that churches and mosques were holding funerals in record numbers.
Thousands of people had died, doctors told the London-based Guardian newspaper, but they had to list the cause of death as pneumonia because they were forbidden to use the term Covid-19.

John Magufuli, Tanzanian president who denied coronavirus, dies at 61 | Stuff.co.nz

A good friend of China . . . despite being a religious nut


FOK

[russellsimpson]

We are definitely talking third wave in Canada involving mainly the British variant. Our numbers could skyrocket in short order. We have across the country been very conservative in our approach with ample lockdowns and very tough regulations. It could be that if the Americans continue to vaccinate at their current rate they may have narrowly dodged a bullet.

[harrybarracuda]

Yea I get that, but in environment of limiter recourses, as far as vaccines are concerned would it not make more sense to prioritize those those with no immunity at al? or is the antibody test more expensive and less available than the vaccine, in which case it is better to spend the money and buy two vaccines instead of one unibody test?
Just thinking out loud.
Yea I know ,CUT IT OUT!! LOL

Added: Vaccination also appears to curb the symptoms of Long Covid.

[harrybarracuda]

I notice it doesn't mention making the results public...

The Public Health Ministry will make a study of Covid-19 vaccine efficiency among people who received the Sinovac or AstraZeneca vaccines, to learn more about their ability to build up immunity in the body.

Results of the test project are expected to be known within the next two months and will help shape the government's vaccine policy for the next 12 months.

Speaking at the ministry's daily briefing on Wednesday, Dr Somsak Akksilp, chief of the Department of Medical Services (DMS), said the Covid-19 vaccines could not guarantee life-long efficiency to prevent further infections so it was important to learn more about the issue.

"This will be an important factor concerning our policy for the next year as we look for a vaccine which is appropriate for Thais," Dr Somsak said. "The study of vaccine efficiency will be done by the ministry team and its partners and will concern people who received the vaccine from both the Sinovac and AstraZeneca companies.

"We have information on its efficiency from abroad, but we don't have such information in our hands regarding Thais. We do need to verify the vaccine's efficiency so we can have an appropriate vaccine for the next year."

He said medical faculties from prestigious universities and the DMS are working together on the issue. Chulalongkorn University's faculty of medicine was assigned to study immunity levels in ordinary people who have received the vaccine. An immunity study among medical staff will be done by Mahidol University's faculty of medicine, Siriraj Hospital.

It will be followed by a study of recipients living with kidney disease which will be done by the faculty of medicine at Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. A study of jab recipients who have cancer will be done by the DMS.

Thailand has given Covid-19 vaccines to 53,842 of 93,600 (58%) people who have now received an initial dose of the vaccine from 200,000 doses provided by Sinovac and another 100,000 doses by AstraZeneca. Bangkok and Samut Sakhon provinces have received the most vaccinations.

Ministry to test jab efficiency

[OhOh]

with new variants

it's simpler just to vaccinate

Which have proven to provide a measurable defence?

Do you have a link to the peer reviewed study?

[OhOh]

to vaccinate at their current rate they may have narrowly dodged a bullet.

Which mutation?

Long Covid.

?

[OhOh]

Interview with Li Jingjing on China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic


Posted by Carlos Martinez on Tuesday, December 29, 2020


Invent the Future editor Carlos Martinez interviews Li Jingjing, a Chinese journalist who covered the Covid outbreak in Wuhan for CGTN, about China’s coronavirus containment efforts. We discuss the current situation in China, the measures that have been taken to eliminate the virus, the broad mobilisation throughout China to help the people of Wuhan, the need for international cooperation to defeat the pandemic at a global scale, and more.

Transcription highlights

Our friends at ChinaSquare have transcribed some highlights from the interview in order to publish them in Dutch. Below you can find the English version.



"So how is the situation in China now in terms of the pandemic?

Since May everything got back to normal everywhere. Recently, there have been some cases popping up in different provinces in China. But the government responded very fast. When there were five cases in a certain district, the next days they tested over 1.2 million people in that place. They found almost all close contacts, and put them into isolation centres for observation.

So as soon as there’s a case detected, then everyone is tested and they do the contact tracing and the isolation?

Early in the year people were still trying to figure out what’s the best method to do it. But now I think every city and every province has already got this format, how to deal with it. Anyone who was just potentially a tiny bit exposed to the virus, gets tested and treated.

And people are using the QR code system then? And that’s normal now?

Yes, they started to do that in Wuhan. It is like what we use for WeChat, or Alipay. They have different colours, green code, red code, and yellow. Green code basically means you were never exposed, not having contacted anyone who has exposed and you have never been to high-risk regions. So as long as you have a green code, you can go anywhere you want. Red code means that you were probably infected or exposed, or maybe you went to a high-risk region. Basically now, because of the new cases, everywhere we go, we have to scan this QR code. A restaurant will have my information, if they suddenly find some cases, they will be able to contact all the customers who went there. So that’s why we register, not for surveillance or something like that.

And how difficult is it to get tested? Do you have to travel a long way to do that? Does that cost money? Can you do it quickly? How long would it take to get the results?

You can just go to the nearby hospital, get tested, and get the result within 24 hours. But if there’s an outbreak they’re testing the regions where the new cases showed up. There they show the results within six hours. So that can be very, very fast.

And how long has all this infrastructure been in place? Was that put in place quite early into the initial outbreak?

Once they lifted the lockdown, people were going to shopping malls, to public places. Then this new system was put in place. In April or in May everybody in all provinces started to use this.

Could you tell us about why you were in Wuhan? What you did during the lockdown? What was the atmosphere like there in the city? How did people handle that?

I’m a reporter, so when I heard there was an outbreak, of course, I was scared, but my response was I want to go there to see what’s happening, I want to cover the story. So my boss allowed me to go. I went to Wuhan in February. I stayed there for 73 days and came back late April. To be honest, during that time, things were quite scary. Not just in Wuhan, but in general in China. Everybody knew there was unknown pneumonia, and there was the Spring Festival. So everybody was supposed to go home and be united with their family and suddenly there was this lockdown. Only a few people could move around. So occasionally you could see an ambulance, taking patients to hospitals, you could see people in protective suits on the street, transporting patients, or delivering food and necessities to different households. As a reporter I went to different hospitals, I interviewed a lot of nurses, doctors, patients, and those who just basically volunteered to do the job to deliver food for different communities and households. I was lucky to witness the entire process, how things got so scary in the beginning, and then how the people really got together to fight everything, and things gradually getting back under control.

I think one of the things that here in the West, we found really difficult about lockdowns is the lack of support going to disadvantaged people who haven’t been able to get the level of support that they would normally have. And we saw that in India as well. In China, how have those situations been dealt with?

Putting a strict lockdown doesn’t mean you’re just isolating this region entirely. Wuhan was trying to snap this transmission chain, so the virus would not go to other places. But they were providing all kinds of support to everybody. This highlights the importance of neighbourhood committees. Because in this kind of committee, probably 20 or 30 people were taking care of thousands of households, buying and delivering food. They went to every door to check different situations of each family. Some families have patients with other diseases, or those who have to go to hospital regularly. Most of the neighbourhood committee members are CPC members. They are just ordinary people who were working non-stop 24/7, during those three months of tough lockdown. The local people love those CPC members.

It is the Chinese way. In the West people are still debating whether they should wear a mask, but here this is a no-brainer. All of us know we have to wear a mask. We do not want to infect others and do not want to be infected. Everybody knows how to disinfect. When Wuhan was under lockdown everybody was trying to help inside the city, but also from outside the city. Top medics came from different provinces. Provinces donated the products, the food they are famous for or specialize in.
So in spite of what obviously was a very difficult situation, everybody had food, people had their medicines. When people needed dialysis or hospital treatment, they received that.

And you can compare that with the situation in New York City, where those kinds of people were queuing down several blocks on the street to get food from food banks

Yeah, here in China, you will get everything because some people will provide all those things to your door. And I just remember one story about a person in need of special treatment. I interviewed this Uyghur guy from Xinjiang. He had gone to Wuhan to do this kidney transplant. And so before the lockdown, he had just finished his surgery and had just got a new kidney. So he needed a lot of intensive care. He said: ‘community workers came to my door and knew my situation.’ Even though it was so difficult for them to manage that, they made sure to arrange whatever check was necessary. During that time one of his doctors just picked him up every day and took him to hospital to do certain checks and whatever he needed. He’s old, but he recovered from everything and has still got everything. He is from Xinjiang, but he says: ‘Wuhan is my second home, because they gave me a second life’. And he’s a Uyghur and a CPC member. This a true story.

China was able to send tens of thousands of doctors and other medical staff to Wuhan, more or less at a moment’s notice, and to build these incredible facilities, modern, fully equipped hospitals in a matter of a few days. How was it possible to mobilize resources at that scale so quickly?

This kind of thing is always possible here. In each province the government asked doctors and medics. Most doctors said: ‘of course I will go’. They said: ‘that’s our responsibility as a doctor, this is the place I need to go to. I’m not thinking of getting gratitude from the citizens. If I’m a doctor, and I’m not going, I will regret this for my entire life’.
In terms of how is it possible? I think maybe it’s really a very effective government. They’re able to work out an effective method within a very short time, with the best resources, the people or food, everything. They centralize resources and send them to the places where they’re most needed.

I think the incredible solidarity that people showed from different parts of China really runs against the stereotype that people have in the West about China and Chinese people. They think it is a strict authoritarian society, where Xi Jinping and the Communist Party tell everyone else what to do. And everyone else is just like robots and they hate their lives. So this idea of solidarity and not being motivated by material rewards, but by very human sentiments definitely goes against the stereotypes about China.

I think it’s never a problem for people here. We always think we should be united especially during this tough time. I think unity, helping each other is much more important than individualism. When my friends and I read in the news that some people are shouting: ‘I’m not going to wear a mask, because it’s my freedom, I was born in a free land’, we think: ‘your freedom is jeopardizing other people’s freedoms. Because of that individualism you will never get back to normal. Is that what you want?’ So I think here in China, we really value this collectiveness. One nurse, she was working eight hours every day in this makeshift hospital. She was providing more than medical checks, psychological treatment of the patients. After things got better and patients were healed, she could go back home. And she chose to stay, saying: ‘there are still severely ill patients in hospital. I need to go to ICU to help those patients.’ When the whole thing was finished, she had a health check and it was found that she had cancer, so she had put herself in danger, that was a sacrifice.

Back in February it felt like the virus was just China’s problem. And quite a few analysts in the West were saying: ‘you know, this virus, it could be China’s Chernobyl, the CPC is going to lose its popularity, it’s going to lose its legitimacy, because of the pandemic’. Is that what happened?

Probably this is going to disappoint a lot of Western politicians, but it made the people here, trust and love the government even more, this outbreak. Maybe in the beginning, it was chaotic. There was a tendency of some people who were just not satisfied with what the governments were doing. But I think it quickly stopped, once they realized that it was a brand-new unknown pneumonia and even the doctors and nurses didn’t know how to deal with it. And the question was: ‘Should we put on a lockdown? How do we provide necessities to people?’ But as soon as they figured out how serious it was, and how it was transmitted between people, all the methods were put in place quite fast and quite effectively. When the lockdown was announced on January the 23rd, it was just two days before Spring Festival, and the lockdown was put in place, right on time. After that the people had a lot of trust in the government and the CPC.

I guess one of the things that you hear on Twitter, is people saying: ‘Oh, well, China’s just lying about the statistics, they haven’t really handled the pandemic at all. They just made up the numbers’. What’s your response to this?

Infectious disease is something you cannot hide. China in their eyes is just inferior. They cannot accept that China is doing much better than the superior Western democracy. But if they don’t trust it, let them take a look at our life. What are we doing? We are partying, we are travelling everywhere, our economy is growing. We’re probably the only country where the economy is growing now. So that’s the reality. And then about the numbers. I know there are a lot of people with doubts about the numbers on Wuhan. I was there and interviewed a patient. His parents died in early February. And because it was so early, and it was chaotic, his parents were not listed. But he told me, during the two months into the pandemic, he got a lot of calls from different departments of local communities, government hospitals, everywhere, constantly checking, asking the information on his parents. And I asked him: ‘well, in the beginning, your parents were not counted in the numbers. Were you frustrated by that?’ And he said: ‘No, I totally understand because it was so chaotic. In the beginning, all the doctors, all the nurses were busy saving patients, those who still have the chance to live, and community workers were saving people locked into their apartments by delivering food, so it’s understandable that they didn’t have the time to count who precisely died of COVID-19’.

I hope everyone’s learning that international cooperation is extremely important to address this pandemic, and also future public health crises. How has China been helping other countries to cope with the pandemic? And related to that, in what ways did other countries help China during the crisis in Wuhan?

I think according to the official information, China already helped 83 countries to fight this pandemic, donating masks, test kits, or intubation machines or whatever. I think America was among those 83 countries as well. And they already sent medics to several countries as well, doctors who had already got the first experience in Wuhan of how to deal with this. And during the crisis, there were so many countries helping China as well, either by donating masks, or donating food. I remember Japan also showed quite a lot of support. So during that time Japan-China friendship got so much better during the worst time, the people who showed you support are the ones that you know are your true friends. And you’re going to remember forever.

Now, the Chinese vaccines are starting to be rolled out. And there’s clearly a big focus on developing countries. Also, the Chinese vaccines are much cheaper than the high profile, western ones. And because of that, the big story in the Western media is suddenly ‘vaccine diplomacy’. Do you have any opinion on that?

It’s always the same: first, it’s panda diplomacy, then it’s mask diplomacy. Now, it’s vaccine diplomacy. So no matter what you’re doing, when you are doing something good people are still going to judge you. I remember when, during the worst time in Wuhan we needed masks the most and the masks expired every few hours. We didn’t have enough for all citizens. In China we have a large population, 1.4 billion. So China stopped its export of masks and the sale of certain medical resources to other countries. And I remember some media were criticizing China for this. Finally we had enough and were able to help other countries. The government realized we can help other countries which are needing it now, because it is getting worse. So they decided to help other countries. We were helping them and they still judged us. But well, we don’t care what they’re saying. Because helping other countries and people in desperation is the right thing to do. We had been through that worst time so we knew how it felt: as if the world was coming to an end.

You monitor the Western media, you have probably seen there’s been a lot of racist anti-Chinese sentiment generated particularly by right wing politicians in the West, who want to blame China for their own failure to contain the Coronavirus. Do people in China see this? Do they talk about this? What do you know about their opinions about this?

I think most Chinese know that. It’s quite frustrating. We have so many international students in other countries. Many Chinese work in other countries, and they are living through a tough time. But also those Asian descendants that were born in America, in Britain also get discriminated against. Very unfair and sad. Do you really have to blame a whole race, or whole nationality for a certain disease? The first AIDS patients were detected in America. Did anyone blame the whole of America for AIDS? Did anyone blame America or Mexico for H1N1? It’s not right.

Anything that makes China look good or makes China seem attractive, especially as a socialist country, especially as a country that’s run by a Communist Party, especially as a non-white country as well, is considered a big challenge. And you know, it’s very predictable and almost inevitable that there’ll be some racism connected with that sentiment.
You’ve lived in the West. Do you have any advice? What do you think other countries, especially countries in the West can learn from the way that China has managed the pandemic?

I don’t think other countries need to exactly copy everything China does, because every country has their own situation, their own culture. What may be very useful is going from door to door to really check everyone, categorizing into four different kinds of people: confirmed patients, suspected patients, close contacts, and patients with a fever, provided with four different treatments. Some patients will be sent to hospitals, hospitals with ICUs, and mild symptom patients sent to makeshift hospitals, and fever patients and close contacts will be sent to quarantine centres. They will be treated well and they won’t overwhelm the medical system. You cannot let close contacts and fever patients stay at home, because they’re going to infect more people there. During the quarantines, they’re going to test those people four times. That’s the way to stop this transmission chain. And also for the food and groceries. I think some countries will probably think about their own plans. You have to deliver food, medicines and medical care to different households during the lockdowns. If you just leave people at their homes without providing any help, they’re going to die, not from COVID-19, but from other things. The third thing I think most important is: just unite. As long as we all pull together this thing can be conquered. In terms of the doctors and medics in Wuhan: seven times they upgraded their diagnosis and treatment schemes. The city, the government, the medical staff, they are always updating based on the information they have got. It took them three months. Other countries have already been seeing this for almost a year. Why are they not upgrading their methods, their solutions?

I can definitely relate to that here in Britain. You can’t get tested unless you pay privately for it, or unless you’ve got symptoms. And then I know people who tried to get tests, and they look on the app to see where they can go. And they’re being asked to go like 100, 150 kilometres to the nearest available test centre.

During the whole outbreak in Wuhan, nobody had to pay anything. They didn’t have to pay for the treatment they got in the hospital, no matter what that treatment was. They found five cases in one district and they tested 1 million people in that district without asking for any money. Because that’s needed. Those close contacts and fever patients who were sent to quarantine centres did not have to pay for the accommodation or the food. I think the government covered all the other costs. So the patients were willing and able to go to those places. Many patients were migrant workers , none of them had to pay. When they were discharged from hospital they were crying and saying: ‘you really saved our lives. Without this kind of hospital, I would just die probably on the street or at home’. I think what China did was really great. You will find that when you ask anybody.

Li Jingjing, I want to thank you for giving us a lot of your time, for sharing your experiences which has been really fascinating, and I hope it will provide some useful ideas for other people watching.

Thank you, thank you for having me here. I would love to help more people. Because I saw probably the worst outbreak in Wuhan. The knowledge we got is precious and, I think, useful for other people who are still suffering from this pandemic. We would like to help people in need."

Interview with Li Jingjing on China's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic - Invent the FutureInvent the Future

[harrybarracuda]

Interview with Li Jingjing on China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic

Posted by Carlos Martinez on Tuesday, December 29, 2020

"Thank you, thank you for having me here. I would love to help more people. "

Good, start by publishing the truth about how you spread the Wuhan virus so we can stop it happening again.

[harrybarracuda]

FFS you can't make this shit up.

A police investigation is under way because 77 illegal migrants, most of them from Myanmar, appear to have contracted Covid-19 while being detained at an Immigration Bureau centre.
National police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk said the detainees had been kept in detention rooms at Bangkok's Bang Khen and Lak Si immigration offices and the Disease Control Department was investigating.
The 77 migrants are Myanmar, Lao and Cambodian nationals who have been detained for illegal entry and include a number of Rohingya migrants currently detained in Don Muang district, said IB chief Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang.

Detained migrants infected

[harrybarracuda]

And clearly the message is not getting through....

SONGKHLA: Two Thai men have been arrested for alleged trafficking in illegal Myanmar migrants from Malaysia to Samut Sakhon province, the epicentre of the December Covid-19 surge. Police assisted by soldiers detained Surakit Waree, 42, of Ratchaburi province, and Suradet Charoenphan, 26, of Buri Ram, at a rubber plantation in Ban Paed Roi Rai, tambon Samnak Taew, in Sadao district near the Thai-Malaysian border about 3am on Thursday.

Samut Sakhon-bound migrant traffickers arrested

[harrybarracuda]

There are economic consequences to the Eurotrash's failed vaccination program, too.

The EU was already stumbling its way from one vaccine blunder to another. It ordered too few shots, spent too little money to ensure adequate supply, put an obscure Cypriot party hack in charge of the most important government programme since World War II, and then lashed out at the companies making the vaccines in a blind panic.

The vaccine fiasco will ignite a second eurozone crisis that will bring the EU to its knees

And their political shenanigans are going to kill even more:

African countries temporarily suspend AstraZeneca vaccine

Several African countries have banned the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, citing possible side effects. The move follows similar measures by European states — but it could seriously hinder Africa's vaccine rollout.

African countries temporarily suspend AstraZeneca vaccine | Africa | DW | 17.03.2021